By Swaraaj Chauhan themoderatevoice.com
Interesting and surprising developments are taking place at a furious pace in the Indian subcontinent following economic liberalisation and globalization - as a result of fast changing geo-political and economic realities.Take for example the opening today (Thursday) of the famed Silk Road, an ancient trading route that once connected China with India, West Asia and Europe, after more than 44 years. This development is described as a potent symbol of rapprochement between the two Asian giants who fought a bitter Himalayan war in 1962.
The Western world's rediscovery of China and India has produced an important side effect: It has become a trigger for the two rising Asian superpowers to renew their own 2,000-year-old acquaintance, reports the IHT. "It's still early days in the courtship, though if it continues, 2050 may not look much different from 1750, when the two nations together controlled as much as 57 percent of the world's manufacturing output. "Today China and India reopen the only all-weather overland trade route joining them through the Himalayas at 4,420 meters, or 14,500 feet, above sea level at the Nathula Pass. (This development comes within days of the opening of China-Tibet rail service.)
The Nathula Pass, sitting 4,545 meters above sea level, was once a pivotal point on the ancient Silk Road. The reopening of the Nathula Pass is expected to give a major boost to bilateral trade between the two countries, which totaled 18.7 billion U.S. dollars last year and is expected to top 20 billion U.S. dollars this year. Located some 460 kilometers from Tibet's capital Lhasa and 550 kilometers from the Indian coastal city of Calcutta, the Pass was an important trade route between China and India but was closed in 1962 following border conflicts. Today the world's highest custom house, at 14,400ft above sea level, is back in business: the border is about to reopen. "If the two contiguous regions were developed in sync, they could become an economic powerhouse together, trading not just with each other but also with Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and Nepal (in the Indian subcontinent).
"China's southwest and India's northeast have 200 billion cubic meters, or 2.15 trillion cubic feet, of natural gas, 1.5 billion tons of crude oil and 900 million tons of coal reserves, according to the economists Biswa Bhattacharyay at the Asian Development Bank in Manila and Prabir De at the Research and Information System for Developing Countries in Delhi. "The Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, which flow through India's east and northeast, have the potential to generate 90,000 megawatts of electricity annually. Only a fraction of this potential is being exploited because it is too expensive to transport the power to industrial centers in northern India. The economics can change with trade."
China, India and Pakistan have begun to slowly open their borders for trade and human traffic. This may not end quickly the perceived decades-long suspicions but surely provide a glimpse into the dramatic changes that are now taking place in this region. Posted on July 5, 2006 Permalink 0 Trackbacks
No comments:
Post a Comment